In the driver’s seat

From European Voice's Entre-Nous column

1/13/10, 9:52 PM CET

Updated 4/23/14, 9:00 PM CET

MEPs miss the van...

An opportunity missed: the European Parliament has just selected Martin Callanan, a UK Conservative MEP, to draft its report on a controversial proposal to regulate emissions from light commercial vehicles – or vans, as they are more commonly known. Even within the same national delegation, the MEPs might have opted for Geoffrey Van Orden. More daringly, they might have chosen the equally aptly named Kathleen Van Brempt, a Belgian MEP who used to be transport minister in the Flemish regional government. Fortunately, perhaps, for the future of European legislation, MEPs attach more importance to these decisions than does Entre Nous.